In drilling wellbores through subsurface formations, e.g., for extraction of materials such as hydrocarbons, a string of drill pipe and drilling tools is turned with a drill bit at a lower end thereof to cut through the formations. Drilling fluid may be pumped through the drill pipe and drilling tools from the surface, exit through the drill bit and return to the surface from an annular space between the wellbore wall and the drill pipe and drilling tools.
Certain drilling operations utilize a device called a rotating flow head (RFH) or a rotating control device (RCD) to seal an upper portion of the annular space and provide a discharge port for fluid leaving the annular space that enables control of discharge of the fluid from the annular space.
Rotating flow heads often include a sealed bearing assembly that provides a fluid tight seal between a housing that may be mounted to a wellhead or riser and the string of drilling tools and drill pipe while enabling rotational motion and axial motion of the drill pipe and drilling tools.
During drilling operations, the sealing bearing assembly is removed from the borehole using a device known as “a running tool” in case of repair or replacement. A variety of mechanisms exist for fastening the bearing assembly to the running tool and releasing the running tool in the housing of the rotating flow head but it can be difficult to determine at the surface whether the bearing assembly is properly seated in the housing.